ALJAZEERA: …Riot police withdrew from the extraordinary scene of clashes that erupted the evening before, and the government asked the student-led protesters to disperse peacefully.
But the protesters — whose use of umbrellas, plastic wrap and other improvised defenses against tear gas has led some to dub their movement the Umbrella Revolution — remained camped on a normally busy highway near Hong Kong government headquarters.
China has called the protests illegal and endorsed the Hong Kong government’s crackdown. The protests, which have drawn tens of thousands of people, raised the stakes in the face-off against Chinese President Xi Jinping’s administration. Beijing has taken a hard line against threats to the Communist Party’s monopoly on power, including clamping down on dissidents… (more)
